Fort Myers approved a developer’s plan to build a five-story, 279-unit apartment complex in East Fort Myers off Palm Beach Boulevard at 1105 Seaboard St., about a block from the Caloosahatchee River.
At a public hearing April 20, Fort Myers City Council voted 5-1 to approve property owner Palm Riverview Holdings LLC’s request to build a Planned Unit Development.
The approval rezones the 8.05-acre site from a combination of Commercial Intensive and Residential Multifamily to the PUD, allowing 35 multifamily dwelling units per acre, about one-third more than the 172 units allowed under previous zoning.
It also allows several deviations from current rules, including reducing green space from 35% to 27.7% and cutting required parking spaces from 533 to 476.
The site has sat vacant for more than a decade, an overgrown lot marked by the foundations of a former mobile home park, with debris and downed power lines.
Nearby residential towers rise in the background of the proposed development site in East Fort Myers. The new project would add density along the corridor leading into downtown.
Evan Williams
The Palm Riverview planned development sits at the edge of an East Fort Myers neighborhood along the river with single-family homes. To the west, the Oasis residential towers and similar developments lead into downtown.
The site off Palm Beach Boulevard is bordered by Royalston Avenue, Superior Street, Seaboard Street and Marion Street.
The plan aligns with the city’s goals for East Fort Myers to “encourage multifamily structures in the neighborhood as buffers between commercial and residential,” said Tony Palermo, assistant director of community development. “This (plan) does exactly that.”
A rendering illustrates the proposed 279-unit apartment complex planned for East Fort Myers. The five-story development will include surface parking and landscaped areas.
Fort Myers government
Palermo said the development complies with city Comprehensive Plan policies to protect residential neighborhoods from development that is “not in harmony or compatible with the character of the existing community” and will not overload the surrounding traffic network.
The developer removed a planned parking garage in favor of surface parking, enhanced perimeter landscaping and made changes to improve traffic circulation after incorporating public comments from an October Planning Board hearing.
City staff and the Fort Myers Planning Board, which voted 6-1 in October, recommended approval.
Remnants of a former mobile home park remain on the property at 1105 Seaboard St. The site is planned for redevelopment into a five-story apartment complex.
Evan Williams
Three public speakers questioned whether the development fits the surrounding neighborhood.
East Fort Myers resident Patricia Borns argued that the development’s approved Commercial Intensive zoning, lack of green space and large surface parking area makes it out of place. She added that the surface parking lot would shower the neighborhood in lights at night like a big-box store parking lot.
Councilor Liston Bochette cast the lone dissenting vote, citing concerns about green space. Councilor Diana Giraldo was out sick but watched the meeting remotely.